Study: Consumers accept personalization technology

Apr 17, 2006

Although they have concerns about privacy, consumers believe that personalization technology – such as direct-mail marketing and filling out forms on Web sites – is here to stay, according to a research project conducted by two Arizona State University assistant professors and two graduate students.

The research team's project “Personalization of Data for Print and e-Commerce” investigated the use and penetration of personalization in the print and Internet industries, as well as consumer acceptance of that personalization during a five-month period. The initial findings were presented in August at the International Graphic Arts Education Association's conference at Millersville University in Pennsylvania.

According to the white paper produced by Graphic Information Technology (GIT) assistant professor La Verne Abe Harris, GIT graduate students Deborah Baney and Brian Davis, and GIT clinical assistant professor Howard Nelson, personalization is “a way to build customer loyalty and deliver intelligent recommendations to a target audience whether the mode is via print or the Internet.”

Print personalization can include direct-mail marketing, and Web personalization can include tracking customers' behaviors on Web sites. Both print and Web personalization involve customer-specific content that is based on that customer's implied interests.

“Personalization is growing in use for the Internet and in variable-data printing,” Harris says. “Today, print and e-commerce clients are expecting personalization as a part of their marketing strategy. This technology is significant because it gives clients a tool to effectively reach their target market, have that competitive advantage, and build a one-on-one relationship with their customers and users.”

When asked about Web personalization, 75 percent of respondents said they believe it is expected to continue, and 68 percent said print personalization is here to stay as well. Privacy issues raised concern for 31 percent of respondents on Web personalization and 30 percent on print personalization.

The study was funded by a $3,000 research grant from the Electronic Document Systems Foundation (EDSF).

Hackers have targeted about 19,000 French websites since a rampage by Islamic extremists left 20 dead last week, a top French cyberdefense official said Thursday as the president tried to calm the nation's ...

Entrepreneurs Adam Leeb and Patrick Paul had an idea—a new age typewriter that offered the comforting nostalgia of old fashioned typewriters with the connectability of modern computers, minus the distractions ...

(Phys.org) —Yahoo, has acknowledged that its service sites were used by hackers to enslave massive numbers of ordinary PCs who did so to generate bitcoins, and by extension, real earnings. Ads were placed ...

Great things happen when scientists share, collaborate, build on one another's work. Big frustrations occur when walls prevent that from happening easily. Another generalization is in order: Where there's ...

Recommended for you

Certain specimens of the fossil Dickinsonia are incomplete because ancient currents lifted them from the sea floor, a team of researchers led by paleontologists at the University of California, Riverside has fo ...

Why does time seem to crawl if you're waiting in line at the post office, but hours can fly by in minutes when you're doing something fun? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research examines the factors that determine how co ...

Why do some consumers make choices based on their feelings instead of rational assessments? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers who consider themselves independent are more inclined to rel ...

Why is it so hard for consumers to save money? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers are often impatient and do not think about the long-term consequences of spending money. ...

Does hearing about a company's charitable donations raise your opinion of their products? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, corporate social responsibility leads consumers to believe products are be ...

User comments : 0

Please sign in to add a comment.
Registration is free, and takes less than a minute.
Read more

Click here to reset your password.
Sign in to get notified via email when new comments are made.